"We used to be family" Captain America Civil War Review

 Captain America Civil War

4/5

Direct By: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Rated: PG-13

            Super heroes are vulnerable. Past all of the powers, electronics and super human skills, underneath Captain America and Iron Man's suit is a person. Underneath their guise as Earth’s mightiest heroes they are a family, and it's being torn apart.

Captain America Civil War is first and foremost a sequel to Captain America the Winter Soldier. The main premise behind this film is Captain America’s friendship with Bucky Barnes and how it will affect his relationship and role within the Avengers. Captain America’s choice to protect his friend, Bucky, against the world government’s authority is one of the main catalysts igniting this civil war. Another spark is the rest of the Avengers choosing their sides on the issue: deciding between joining Iron Man who believes there needs to be control over Earth’s heroes, and Captain America who believes the Avengers need free reign in order to best protect the world. The film does a fantastic job raising the stakes of this conflict and bringing these two sides into their head to head collision. There are heroes fighting to defend their beliefs, heroes fighting for vengeance and heroes fighting for blood.

Captain America Civil War has some enjoyable and intense scenes of conflict. The battles fought are not only with fists but also with words. The tone of these fights never feels forced or unwarranted, because The Russo brothers’ have done an excellent job directing this film. The story carefully shifts between jaw dropping fun and heavy-handed seriousness without making one appear more important or meaningless than the other. It’s an amazing balance, and it's not easy pulling off.

One of the main elements this film boasts of is its extensive line up of heroes, including Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawk-eye, War Machine, Falcon, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Ant Man and newcomers Black Panther and Spider-Man. Black Panther is a welcomed addition, as he not only has his own unique clawing style of hand-to-hand combat but he also has a well crafted back story behind his rise into this world of heroes. Spider-Man brings a new feeling of youth and exhilaration to the franchise, as well as providing some serious “fan-boying”. Tom Holland’s portrayal of the infamous web head gives viewers great insight into Spider-Man’s upbringing, how his powers have changed his life and how small he feels fighting along side these heroes. I am excited to see where Tom takes the character next.

Despite how phenomenal this film truly is, the biggest drawback of this film is it is not (and in no way could be) a stand-alone film. In order for someone to fully understand the weight of these heroes’ actions and motivations, they should watch The Avengers, Captain America Winter Soldier, and Avengers Age of Ultron. The knowledge these films bring, gives the climax of Captain America Civil War much more impact. If you are a fan of the Marvel cinematic universe, then you should definitely see this one in theatres.

Verdict: Captain America Civil War is a spectacular film with both an able bodied feeling of action packed fun and a strong sense of emotional pain and heartbreak.